Hops

Hops

Humulus lupulus

Jo Francks MH

The International Herb Association has chosen Hops as the herb of the year for 2018. Hops is on The School of Natural Healing’s 100 herb list as a nervine. Dr. Christopher considered hops both a stimulating and a relaxing nerve tonic, in that it increases heart action and capillary circulation, yet will produce soothing slumber in nervous and excited mental conditions. Hops is relaxing to the liver and gall ducts and reduces inflammation and relieves accompanying pain.

Before Dr. Christopher knew about nervine herbs he knew about hops. He had a patient in Olympia, Washington, USA, who had the worst case of insomnia he had ever seen. She walked the floor at night and could not relax in the daytime, either. Dr. Christopher made up an old English formula: he filled a pillow with hop flowers and told her to sleep on it. She tried it and slept like a baby! In England in 1787, when King George III was suffering from what his physicians thought to be lunacy, he slept on a Hops pillow instead of taking opiate drugs. Hops was considered official in the 17th U.S. Dispensatory to be used in a pillow for insomnia. Hops can also be used as a tea for insomnia. It is very bitter and may be easier taken as a capsule or extract.

Hops pillows can be made very easily by putting hops flowers into a drawstring muslin bag used for making herbal tea. Lavender and chamomile flowers can be added as well. This can be put near your pillow or under your pillow when you go to bed.

Cooking with Low Heat

We Recommend Low Heat:

Jo Francks MH

We often get asked what someone can use to low heat food when they are transitioning to Dr. Christopher’s Mucusless Diet. I have experimented with many gadgets and appliances. There is one I have found that is not too costly and can be used for multiple purposes including low heating food.

An electric skillet with a dial controller allows you to adjust the temperature to below the warm setting. The one I use is a Rival and is common in many department stores. There are other brands also available.

To get the temperature to below 130 degrees you first add water to about a half inch from the top. Turn the dial until the light comes on and put the lid on. Leave this for 6 hours or overnight and check the temperature with a thermometer. Adjust the knob higher until you reach the temperature desired (130 degrees) and use a permanent marker to mark the spot on the dial.

I use this to low heat grains and vegetables and to extract herbal oils or make decoctions. The skillet I have has a nonstick coating so I put a pyrex glass pan in the skillet and that’s what I put the food in. This opens up a wider range of warmed food to eat on the Mucusless Diet and is especially nice in the winter.

Recipe

Low Heated Stir Fry Vegetables

1//2 Chopped onion

1 bunch asparagus (cut off the tough ends)

1 cup diced zucchini

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ red pepper

Braggs Aminos

Black pepper grinder

Place the veggies in the glass pan in the electric skillet. Sprinkle with Braggs and grind some pepper over the veggies to desired amount. Low heat 3 to 4 hours to desired consistency.

Serve over zucchini noodles or low heated grains.

Recipe by Jo Francks MH

Eyebright

Eyebright

Jo Francks MH

Many times I have been asked by callers about cataracts, glaucoma, eye floaters or poor vision. I always tell them about Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Eye Formula. Sometimes they demand to know if this will remove their cataracts and if I know of anyone who has removed cataracts with the formula. Aside from the many stories and testimonials given by Dr. Christopher himself, I have recently talked with one of our students who has had great improvements with cataracts and glaucoma.

This student (I will call her Jill) had pressure of 20 and 21 in the eyes. She washed her eyes out with a solution of the herbal eye wash 5 or 6 times a day for a month. When she went back to the doctor the pressure had gone down to 15 in both eyes and she could see much better. She also had cataracts and had a lens put in one of her eyes because she was losing eyesight all together. In the eye without the lens she said everything looked like a black blob. Now she can see and even read through that eye.

This is what Jill told me she did. She would boil a half cup of water and add 25 drops of the Herbal Eye Tincture and let it cool off. She used this formula in an eye cup to wash her eyes 5 or 6 times a day. The Doctor told her she would destroy her eye by washing her eye with this formula. She did it anyway. She also took 2 capsules a day of the same formula.  After a month she saw dramatic results and is continuing to use the formula.

Another man had called in and wanted to tell us that his cataracts were going away. He had been taking 2 capsules of the Herbal Eye formula twice a day for several months. He didn’t know about the eyewash and was going to start using that too.

We also have a testimonial of eye floaters going away by using the Bilberry Eye formula. This person did not like taking capsules so they were opened and the formula was eaten.

If you’re wondering if Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Eye formulas can help you with any vision or eye problems, I encourage you to give it a try. Many people have used these herbal formulas with positive results. As with any herbal therapy; it won’t work if you don’t use it.

We Recommend Hot and Cold Therapy

We Recommend Hot and Cold Therapy

Jo Francks MH

When my children were younger we were having dinner with some friends who had children the same age and they had an outside hot tub. The kids were soaking in the hot tub and then suddenly they weren’t. When we looked for them, we found them rolling around in the snow and laughing.  The other mom was a little worried thinking they would catch pneumonia or something. I assured her that this was good therapy and was so good for their circulation.

Through history alternating heat and cold on areas of inflammation or pain has been used extensively. The heat brings the blood and nutrients to the area and helps muscles relax.  The cold drives the blood and toxins away and in some cases will reduce inflammation and swelling.

For a sports injury such as a sprained ankle cold treatment is recommended for the first 48 hours. After that alternating heat and cold is recommended. The cold treatment shouldn’t be used before a workout and ice shouldn’t be applied directly to the skin for very long. Ice can be used as a massage and can be added to water to soak in. A bag of crushed ice or frozen vegetables works well.

Heat therapy is used to relax muscles and increase circulation. It can be applied as a hot water bottle or in a bucket of warm water. A rice bag heated in a microwave has worked very nicely.

Guidelines are to alternate hot and cold up to 10 minutes each for 30 to 40 minutes three times a day ending on cold. This alternating therapy can also be applied while in the shower. Use alternating warm and cold for up to a minute each before changing the heat. Common sense should be used to determine how hot or cold the temperature should be.

Use caution with this therapy for people with high blood pressure or heart disease. Pregnant women shouldn’t use prolonged hot and cold therapy. Also this shouldn’t be applied to open wounds.

Of course we always recommend using other natural treatments as well. For injuries the Complete Tissue and Bone formula can be used internally and as an ointment or fomentation. Some other herbs that can be used for inflammation are turmeric, ginger, cayenne, and marshmallow.

We Recommend Skin Brushing

We Recommend Skin Brushing

Jo Francks MH

In Iridology the edge of the iris of the eye represents the outside skin of the body. Ideally the iris color should extend all the way to the edge of the iris. If there is a dark edge to the iris it may be suggesting that the skin is under active and needs some attention and nurturing.

The skin is our largest channel of elimination and could also be a communicator that our other channels of elimination and detoxification are being sluggish by showing signs of acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc. Skin brushing helps the skin by brushing away dead skin cells and opening up the pours. It helps increase circulation to the skin and throughout the body. It is also an excellent way to move lymph through the body. This is important because the lymph doesn’t move on its own like the blood does. Lymph needs our help to get through the lymphatic system. It carries immune cells and cleans up the blood as it moves. Our own body movements, exercise, skin brushing and massage are some of the ways to pump the lymph.

To do skin brushing, use a dry skin brush with natural bristles on dry skin. Start by brushing the bottom of the left foot then the top and use upward brushing motions and work your way to the top of the leg and hip. Make sure to brush front back and sides so you don’t miss any spots. Do the same on the right leg starting at the bottom of the foot and work up to the hip always brushing towards the heart. After you have brushed the legs go to the left hand. Start at the palm then the back of the hand and brush up to the shoulder then do the right hand and arm. On the back start at the waist and brush all the way up the back to the shoulders the brushing strokes going upward. On the abdomen brush in a clockwise motion in the direction the bowels flow. Brush from the jaw down the neck to the chest. From the top of the shoulders, brush down the chest toward the heart. When doing dry skin brushing it is important to go with the flow meaning brush in the direction the lymph moves. The lymph nodes are one way valves and always open towards the heart.

The best time to do dry skin brushing is in the morning just before showering. Some reports say that it has helped with crepe skin, cellulite and improved energy levels. I suggest you try it out for 30 days and see what kind of results you get.

Help for Migraines

Help for Migraines

Jo Francks MH

It is estimated that 25 million Americans suffer from migraines on a regular basis or as much as 12 percent of the population. A classic migraine is a severe and throbbing headache, usually on one side of the head and often preceded by visual disturbances. Nausea and vomiting often accompany a migraine.

Women suffer this condition nearly 3 times more than men. Approximately one third of women who get migraines have them just prior to or during menstruation. Hormonal fluctuations of estrogen and progestin are thought to trigger these migraines.

In Dr. Christopher’s School of Natural Healing book, the cause of headaches is stated as the result of a disturbance in some other part of the body, such as digestive disorders in the stomach, liver or bowel; problems in the abdominal area; menstrual irregularities, impingements in the cervical; concussion, eye strain, nervous excitement, fatigue, etc. The headache is a mechanism which signals some serious problem elsewhere. The common headache is due to faulty elimination, and the waste matter causes problems until the toxic wastes reach the stomach nerves and affects them. Sometimes headaches are caused from panic, fear, or worrying about the unknown.

Herbal treatments for Migraines

Feverfew (Tenacetum parthenium) is a well-studied herb for the treatment of migraines and has been used successfully. 1 to 4 fresh leaves can be eaten daily for prevention. Some people have noticed the fresh leaves to cause mouth sores. A tea can be made of the fresh leaves to avoid getting mouth sores and capsules can also be used. Feverfew seems to work best when taken consistently over time.

Cayenne: This increases circulation to all parts of the body. Capsaicin in the juice of fresh peppers was applied to the nose of a group suffering from cluster headaches. This treatment significantly reduced the number of headaches and some were completely cured. Taking cayenne internally has also proven helpful for migraines which would be more preferable than using the fresh juice in the nostril.

Ginger: one study compared the efficacy of ginger for the treatment of migraine headaches to Imitrex a top selling drug. It turned out that only one-eighth of a teaspoon of powdered ginger worked just as well and just as fast as the drug when given at the onset of the migraine. Using ginger daily also helped prevent migraines or decrease their frequency and intensity.

Nervine herbs: Stress is one of the triggers of a migraine. Dr. Christopher suggested using a strong nervine tea such as valerian or skullcap with lobelia tincture added. His Relax-Eze formula is also helpful to relieve stress and help with headaches.

Dr. Christopher’s MindTrac: Science is claiming that some migraines could be due to low serotonin levels. Using the MindTrac is helpful as well as exercise, fresh air and sunshine to naturally increase serotonin levels.

As a sufferer of migraines myself I was able to get relief through chiropractic care from a NUCCA chiropractor. It took several treatments to get my head on straight and from there I had no more recurrence.

Not all people who suffer from migraines will respond to one treatment because the cause can be from many sources as explained above. The important thing is to find out what triggers a migraine and work to prevent them and to help relieve the symptoms. They can be very debilitating.

References:

School of Natural Healing: John Christopher

Women’s Herbs Women’s Health: Christopher Hobbs, Kathy Keville

How Not To Die: Michael Greger

The Green Pharmacy: James Duke

Body into Balance: Maria Noel Groves